Bhagwat demands law for Ram temple construction

RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat Thursday demanded a law to pave the way for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya, saying an organised Hindu society is the bedrock of unity and the acceptance of eternal Hindutva ethos is the “panacea” for fundamentalism.

In his annual Vijayadashmi address, the last before the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, at the RSS headquarters here, Bhagwat also spoke about “urban maoism”, the Sabarimala row and the need to strengthen the country’s borders.

Bhagwat said the sangh has been associated with sentiments of crores of country men in the efforts for construction of a magnificent Ram temple at the birthplace of Lord Rama, who is the personification of life energy of the nation and icon of upholding the dharma.

The acceptance of eternal Hindutva ethos is the panacea for fundamentalism, selfishness, unrestrained consumerism arising out of hardcore materialism and insensitivity, he said.

“Temple construction is necessary from self-esteem point of view; it will also pave way for an atmosphere of goodwill and oneness,” he said.

Bhagwat also hit out at Maoism, saying it has always been “urban” and the “neo-Left” doctrine of urban naxals is to establish an “anti-national” leadership with blind followers solely committed to them.

In an apparent reference to the arrest of a number of activists by Pune police for their alleged links with Maoists, Bhagwat alleged that “urban Maoism” was propagating falsehood and spreading hatred in society.

“These people (Maoists) take strength from the country’s enemies and always malign the nation wherever they go,” he alleged.

He said in the last four years, a specific tone has been given to agitations originated in some undesirable incident in the society, old and new issues bothering different sections of the society and long-standing or emerging demands.

“The selfish power hungry politics with sheer disrespect for the social harmony, legal and constitutional discipline and with an eye on votes in the upcoming elections have been apparently clear behind these machinations,” he charged.

“But this time an atmosphere of divergence, separatism, violence, acerbic hatred and going to the extent of fuelling anti-national sentiments is being created by exploiting these grievances,” the RSS chief said.

The leading faces of the groups from whom the slogans like ‘Bharat tere tukde honge’ emanated, have been at the forefront with their provocative speeches in such incidents at some places, he said.

When violent activities in remote forest areas were dealt with firmly, those leading and abetting violence were seen at the forefront of these agitations as votaries of urban naxalism, he said.

On the ongoing Sabarimala row, he said the Supreme Court verdict on the issue had not taken the nature and premise of the tradition that has been accepted by society and and has given rise to “divisiveness” in society.

Questions such as why only the Hindu society experiences such repeated and brazen onslaughts on its symbols of faith, obviously arise in the public’s mind and lead to unrest, Bhagwat said.

“The situation arising out of the recent verdict on Sabarimala temple shows a similar predicament. The nature and premise of the tradition that has been accepted by society and continuously followed for years together were not taken into consideration,” he said.

The Supreme Court had last month lifted the centuries- old ban on the entry of women of menstrual age into the shrine located in Kerala.

Nobel Prize winner and social activist Kailash Satyarthi was the chief guest on the occasion.

In his nearly 80-minute speech, Bhagwat called for securing the country’s borders, strengthening the armed forces and focussing on internal security.

Noting that India always stood for peace and brotherhood, he stressed the need to maintain a balance between strengthening armed forces and raising their morale and at the same time propagating peace with neighbours.

Without naming Pakistan, he said attacks on borders have not stopped despite a new government taking over (there).

He noted that India’s foreign policy has always been for peace, tolerance and friendly relations irrespective of governments.

Highlighting the importance of internal security, he said steps should be taken to ensure law of the land and Constitution is followed.

He also said that the society’s role is important in ensuring that the internal security is strong.

The country cannot be assured about its security without the total self-reliance in the field of defence production even while continuing with multilateral exchanges wherever necessary. The pace of national efforts in this direction has to be accelerated, Bhagwat said.

He also said that the process of cultural awareness was continuing in the country.

“Like cultural awareness, Mahatma Gandhi’s experiments with truth and non-violence gave the ordinary citizens moral courage to fight the British during independence struggle.”

“This year is the 550th Prakash Parv of Shri Guru Nanak Dev ji. It is Shri Guru Nanak Deo ji’s legacy that gave the country a magnificent and majestic tradition of 10 gurus who removed our state of penury and inferiority,”He said.

“When our entire society, forgetting the truth inherited from the natural self of Bharat, became defeated, Sri Guru Nanak ji showed a new path of self-enlightenment through his life, gave the society a new life of oneness by ameliorating the strayed tradition,” he added.